Last night Andy Hemsted, a Waltham Forest councillor, was selected to stand in Walthamstow at the next general election.

More biographical details will be added as and when I get them.

He is 35 and works as Financial Adviser for Axa in Corporate Pensions. He grew up in
and around Walthamstow and is a Councillor for Chingford Green ward on
Waltham Forest council.

He said on his selection:

"I am delighted and honoured to have been selected by the members of Walthamstow Conservative Association to be their prospective parliamentary candidate. The people of Walthamstow deserve much better than they have been getting from both our Labour/Liberal Democrat led Council and this disastrous, wasteful and inept government, and I look forward to being a voice for change within Walthamstow.

"I also look forward to meeting more local residents in the upcoming Euro Elections campaign, and showing people that there is an alternative to living in fear of ever rising crime, to suffering ever increasing taxes and to having more and more wasteful government, both local and national."

The seat has been held for Labour since 1992 by Neil Gerrard, a rebellious Lbaour Left-winger who enjoyed a majority of 7,993 over the Lib Dems at the last general election. The seat was brieflty Conservative-held - by Hugo Summerson - between 1987 and 1992, but the party was in third place with 18.2% at the last general election.

8.30pm: Another MP we'd missed from ChickenWatch is Neil Gerrard. Stella Creasy (Facebook) was selected to replace him as the party's candidate for Walthamstow. She was selected from an all-women's shortlist.